Stargate: Return of the Ancients, Season 1, Ep 6
by Aer-ki Jyr
Summary: Episode "The Forgotten Ones"
1. Chapter 1

Temman dropped to the ground, helpless. His body went numb from the Wraith stun blast that had hit him dead center, and he fell backward onto a rock so that his chest lay higher than his head. His line of sight was fixed back the way the shot had come. Upside down he saw three Wraith abandon their cover in the forest and come towards him.

He wanted to yell for help, but he could not. His partner had already gone down a few seconds before he did. Her hit had prompted him to stand up from cover to see what was happening, which had got him shot. He had been stupid. Ronon had taught him better.

The Wraith passed out of view, either standing over him or moving on past. His head was set in a fixed position, and Temman couldn't so much as wiggle a finger…yet he hadn't passed out, which gave him a slight advantage. When stunned in training drills, he had discovered that if one worked constantly to fight past the numbness then it would dissipate quicker than normal. He fought with all his available concentration and hammered against the neural block.

Suddenly one of the Wraith stepped back into view and fired his weapon into the forest. Temman just made out a figure on the periphery of his vision as the Wraith adjusted his aim and fired repeatedly. The more the figure moved into line the better Temman could see him…or in this case, it.

The figure hesitated each time it was shot, but then continued on undiminished.

The combat model replicator ran forward and latched onto the Wraith's weapon, tearing it from its grip and breaking the Wraith's arm in the process. It kicked the Wraith to the side and fired several blasts over Temman's head.

Though he couldn't show it, Temman was incredibly relieved. He didn't know whose replicator it was, but it had apparently been close enough to respond to the attack and would kill or drive off the Wraith, preventing them from dragging him off helpless to be fed upon.

The replicator held position near Temman and fired off stun blast after stun blast, getting hit by several itself, but never more than momentarily affected by the incoming fire. Behind it, Temman saw more Wraith approaching, but couldn't cry out a warning. Of the new Wraith, one held out a small pistol and fired a green blast at the Replicator.

Temman saw its left shoulder disintegrate into melted droplets that fell to the ground in front of his eyes. The tiny bits smoked on the ground, falling apart as if they were nothing but burnt sand. They lay directly in front of his eyes, smoldering as they further disintegrated.

The Replicator, when hit, calmly turned around, shifting the Wraith weapon to his other arm and fired precisely into the Wraith's torso, dropping it to the ground. More blasts ensued from the damaged Replicator, keeping the Wraith away from Temman as he worked a slight sensation back into the thumb on his right hand.

The Replicator took two more stun blasts, then, without reason, abandoned Temman and ran off into the woods. If he could have screamed, or pleaded, or cried out in any fashion he would have, but he couldn't. He lied frozen in place as he saw the injured Wraith slowly rise to its feet and walk toward him.

Step by step it approached, its arm limp at its side, all the while staring at Temman through its bony faceplate. It knelt down next to him and just before it touched him Temman could see the feeding slit in its hand pass over his face.

The stun blast couldn't dull the pain that came. Temman's life drained from him as the Wraith healed its injured arm. When finished it stood up and returned to the fight, leaving Temman's withered body behind. Within a few minutes the stress of the feeding overloaded his heart and he died, frozen in place on top of a rock.

* * *

A quarter mile away from Temman, Teyla hid behind a fallen tree waiting to ambush a group of approaching Wraith. She had with her one of three 'regulars,' which they'd come to call the Pegasus recruits that they'd been training. This regular's was named Inis, and she was hunkered down behind a thick tree trunk ten meters away.

The plan was to draw the Wraith out of the forest base with a distraction further down the ridge. Sheppard and his team had drawn that duty, while Teyla's five man squad had ambush duty at the complex's south entrance.

Her three regulars were equipped with basic stun rifles similar in design to the P-90 that she still carried. With the vast array of weapons that Stevenson had made available to her, Teyla had been trying out many different varieties, but to date she hadn't found one that she liked and wasn't proficient enough for her tastes with any of the new weapons so, like Sheppard, she had decided to stick with the P-90 until she could find a suitable replacement and get in enough target practice to grow comfortable with using it.

The regulars that they'd brought with them, nine in all, had proven themselves enough to be added to the mission rosters, but they hadn't yet rated lethal weapons. All of them carried stun rifles or pistols, and would continue to do so until they proved that they could fight without their commanders worrying about friendly fire…which had been a continuing problem in training missions.

This mission, however, was not a training scenario. It was a real assault on a small Wraith production facility hidden beneath the canopy of a very high forest. The Wraith base extended underground and was thought to be a small arms factory. It had come to their attention via Stevenson and his ability to monitor all current gate travel from the gate center back in Avalona. He'd written a program to monitor and transfer all Pegasus gate data to Atlantis daily via the subspace 'fax' technology that the Ancients used to send one way text messages over great distances.

By backtracking known Wraith movements they'd discovered this small, cozy, out of the way system that had abnormally high gate traffic and was a stop off location for Wraith ships from time to time, confirmed by Atlantis's long range sensors when they'd been focused in to monitor the planet in question. Addition recon had provided all the pertinent data to add this planet to the hit list for Sheppard and his crew.

With the painfully slow _Tria_ being the only option for transit aside from the gate network, and with this particular system lying well away from the two remaining supergates, it had been determined that they would make the strike on foot, given that the puddle jumpers, or _navicula porta_ as Stevenson called them, couldn't maneuver through the trees that surrounded the gate.

After using the built in surveillance equipment that Stevenson had _kindly_ showed them how to use after hooking up a standard display in Atlantis's control room so they wouldn't continuously hound him to mentally check off world status through the gate, three teams led by Teyla, Ronon, and Sheppard headed out to hit the Wraith factory, accompanied by one replicator each.

Teyla had ordered her other two regulars further back along the path they thought the Wraith would take from the south entrance to get to the disturbance that Sheppard's team was going to create. She had ordered the replicator to quietly patrol the area and make sure that the Wraith didn't sneak up on them from another direction. So far everything had been quiet, but that wasn't going to last for long.

Off in the distance she heard the gentle boom of the Wraith's forward watch tower. Apparently Sheppard had succeeded in overcoming the guards and detonating the small building…but not before letting Ronon's squad by with the big fireworks, which they would attempt to plant inside the facility while the Wraith were busy outside.

To that end, the southern entrance opened up and over a dozen Wraith flooded out, heading west southwest…and not on the well worn path that Teyla thought they'd be on. Instead, they were heading through the underbrush in a direction that would bring them directly on top of Teyla and Inis, instead of on the path through the gully directly below them.

"What now?" Inis mouthed to Teyla.

She signaled for her to stay put while she thought hard about what to do. Meanwhile the Wraith hurriedly crunched their way through the forest undergrowth, heading towards what had been their watchtower.

Teyla pointed along the ridge, ordering Inis to move down and fire on the Wraith well away from her. Once they redirected on Inis, Teyla would hit them from the side.

"Then run back," Teyla whispered, pointing to the direction of the other two regulars. Inis nodded and crawled away.

Teyla steadied herself, hidden behind the log. When she heard Inis open up, she would give it a count of three then jump out of cover and lay into the Wraith while they were distracted. Then they would both fall back and draw the survivors to the rest of her squad, as planned beforehand. The replicator would join the fight once the regulars opened fire, so as not to blow the ambush.

Teyla heard Inis's stun rifle fire three quick burst and she began counting.

One…two…three!

She stood up behind her log and took one step forward, but stopped in her tracks. She fired on the nearest Wraith, downing it with a hail of P-90 fire. She turned to the next and downed it just the same, but by then the other Wraith had noticed her presence and began firing on her.

Teyla dropped back behind cover, cursing herself. She had planned to run and gun, but when she'd stood up she'd froze. Now she was in a bind.

"Teyla!" she heard Inis yell as she crouched behind a thin tree, surrounded by a hail of stun blasts. One of them impacted the trunk and her shoulder.

Her rifle dropped from her limp arm. "Teyla! Help!"

Teyla knew she had to do something, but she also knew that if she stood up the other Wraith would shoot her on the spot. They were approaching her position, she could feel them as hazy spots within her mind. Three of them, approaching cautiously.

She raised her gun up over the log and fired wildly, hoping to hit something. The Wraith ducked behind cover, buying a few more seconds for Teyla to do something.

Reluctantly she activated her wristband. "Achilles, recall now!" she screamed, ordering her personal replicator off patrol duty and back to her position immediately.

Teyla knew she couldn't call up her other regulars, they'd be target practice moving through the woods. They had to stay under cover if they were going to do any good. Teyla and Inis had to pull back to them.

Just then Teyla heard a faint hum and zap, and she felt one of the Wraith fall dead, with the others confused. She knew this was her chance and jumped to her feet. She fired her weapon at the other two Wraith, hitting both but not killing either.

Another tiny glowing light zipped between the trees and hit one of the Wraith. It slumped out of cover, dead.

"Thank you, Ronon," Teyla said to herself.

Off from her left several stun blasts zipped through the trees and she automatically ducked to the ground…but they weren't aimed at her. They hit the other cowering Wraith, and he too slid into sight.

Teyla ran forward and filled the stunned Wraith with bullets as her replicator sprinted towards her through the woods with inhuman speed. When it got to her it didn't need additional orders. Its programming sensed the other Wraith and responded to the threat immediately.

The replicator named Achilles ran past Teyla in a blur, firing its captured Wraith weapon with precise, yet rapid shots. Teyla ran behind it, failing to keep up. She heard the sounds of battle ahead as the replicator manhandled the Wraith, snapping limbs and necks with ease.

Teyla shot one Wraith as it tried to limp off through the underbrush, and made sure to put at least two bullets into every one lying on the ground. She caught up to Inis with the replicator pacing around the immediate area, keenly alert.

"Inis, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

"Can't feel my right arm," she said, clearly afraid.

"Can you walk?"

"I think so," she said, struggling to stand up.

"Achilles, take her back to the rest of the squad. Hold there and protect them. I'll lead the rest of the Wraith back to your position."

The replicator simply nodded, then began to pull Inis along by the arm. When she stumbled, it simply picked her up, swung her over its damaged shoulder, and carried her at half a run back through the woods.

Teyla turned her attention back towards the complex as she sensed more Wraith coming out…but this time they weren't coming towards her. They were headed towards what she guessed was Ronon's group, based on the direction the mini drones had come from.

Pissed off at her own incompetence, she sprinted forward toward the emerging Wraith, intent on killing as many of them as she could before they could outflank Ronon's squad.


	2. Chapter 2

Ronon dropped the mini drone launcher to the ground and pulled out his sidearm just in time to shoot a Wraith as it charged out of the western entrance of the complex. Its dead body fell into him, which he quickly shucked off to free his gun arm to shoot another Wraith point blank in the head.

His replicator, Ares, had been sent around to the North entrance to block any flanking maneuver by the Wraith while Ronon and Reva, his best regular, charged down their throats into the complex and planted their charges.

Twenty four Wraith lay dead at the entrance, all killed by the mini drone launcher at range. Now it was up to Ronon to take care of what he hoped would be only a few stragglers in hand to hand combat. Reva was to follow close behind him while Temman and Ella held guard duty a hundred meters to the north as backup should Ares fail to stop all the Wraith. Sheppard and his team would be joining them as backup as soon as they finished off any Wraith at the western watchtower that overlooked the clearing where the cruisers and darts would land.

Ronon stepped over the dead Wraith and moved down the sloped tunnel through the organic hallways. He jogged slowly, keeping decent pace while staying alert for more Wraith. They only needed to place the explosives fifty meters inside and the Ancient technology would create a concussive blast that would devastate the entire Wraith factory.

Ronon held up at a junction and waved a hand backward for Reva to do the same. He hunkered up against the wall as Ronon quietly drew his forearm-length blade at a reverse angle. He waited until the footsteps became unbearably loud and the first inch of blue skin appeared around the corner, then he stepped forward and slid the blade neatly into its torso.

He pulled it out just as quickly and the male Wraith dropped to the ground, his odd pistol slipping from his grip. Ronon glanced around to make sure the area was clear, then he knelt down and retrieved the weapon.

"Come on," he said to Reva as he got to his feet and began to move forward.

* * *

Outside Teyla caught up with the last two Wraith in the group and shot both in the back while on the run. She jumped over the two bodies just as three more ahead heard her gunfire and turned around, firing.

Teyla fired another burst as she ducked sideways and took cover behind another of the abnormally large trees. She felt the Wraith split up and move towards her, two on the right and one on the left. She waited until they were halfway there, then swung around the tree on the left and fired on the lone Wraith, dropping to a knee.

It got off a single blast before being riddled with bullets, which flew safely over Teyla's head. She dropped out a nearly empty clip and quickly replaced it with a fresh magazine. Before the other Wraith could get to her she darted backwards and took up position behind another tree, grabbing a quick breath.

She had three seconds to compose herself before the Wraith were on top of her again. Putting all concern for herself aside, she jumped sideways out from behind the tree, firing at the first one she saw as she flew through the air. When she hit the ground with a painful thud she switched her aim to the second and held in the on the trigger.

Both Wraith went down, but one caught her with a shot in the foot and her leg went completely numb.

She groaned more in frustration than pain and pried herself up to a sitting position and scanned the horizon. The rest of the Wraith in the group hadn't turned back and where probably even now bearing down on Ronon…and there wasn't anything more she could do to help him aside from ordering Achilles to intervene, but it was guarding Inis and her other regulars whose current condition she knew nothing of, and she couldn't risk pulling Achilles away from them if they were in trouble.

She'd done all she could to help Ronon. The best she could do now was try and drag herself back toward the others.

* * *

"Oh crap," Sheppard said, kneeling over Temman's withered corpse. They'd already found Ella's unconscious body after killing two Wraith in the area, but only now had they come across Temman. "Squad hold here," he ordered. "See to her and watch our six. Ariel, you're with me," he told his female version replicator who dropped into step eight inches off his right shoulder as Sheppard ran ahead, following the mass of tracks in the damp soil toward the complex.

They came to the western entrance just in time to see three Wraith enter. Suddenly Ariel darted off to the right, and Sheppard was about to say something rude about the nature of machines when he too spotted a group of Wraith coming up from the south.

He fired a quick burst of P-90 fire into the complex entrance, hoping to wing the Wraith disappearing within or at least stall their advance. He did neither and had to quickly make a choice…move off to engage the others with Ariel or dive on into the Lion's den, hoping that the Wraith didn't get past the replicator and shoot him in the back.

Sheppard chose to go to Ronon, and sprinted into the tunnel on the tail of the Wraith. He jumped over a couple more Wraith corpses within the organic hallway and moved forward as quickly as he dared. Up ahead he heard the telltale whine of Ronon's Traveler-built pistol and knew he was close.

Before he knew it he was on the back of the Wraith party and unloaded at point blank range, skidding to a halt as he came around a blind corner. Four Wraith stood with their backs to him, trying to get a shot off at Ronon who was out of Sheppard's vision.

Sheppard slung a line of bullets left to right, wounding but not killing all four Wraith. In their momentary pain-induced hesitation he permanently damaged three of them while an orange blast from Ronon took down the fourth.

"Charges are set," Ronon said, walking forward. "We need to pull back."

"There are more Wraith outside," Sheppard said, falling into line behind Ronon as he led the way back to the surface. "We found two from your squad down," Sheppard told him. "Temman's dead."

Ronon half stopped. "What? How?"

"I don't know," Sheppard said. "The rest of my team is standing by with Ella. Ariel took off after the Wraith."

Ronon turned and sprinted for the exit.

"Damn it," Sheppard said under his breath as he and Reva lost ground to Ronon.

When they got outside they ran smack into Ariel as the replicator entered the western exit. "Where's Ronon?" Sheppard asked.

"That way," it said, pointing directly away from the complex.

Sheppard stepped around it and trailed after Ronon. Ariel dropped into step beside him, as normal. When they eventually caught up, they found Ronon kneeling over Temman's body.

"Ares is gone. The Wraith got through from the north," Ronon growled. Sheppard glanced down at Ronon's wristband and the small red light that indicated the replicator's status.

"Find Ares, or what's left of him," Sheppard ordered Ariel. The smaller of the three replicators nodded and took off running through the woods.

"Ten meter perimeter, heads up for more Wraith," he ordered his squad, who quickly encircled them in a defensive halo.

"I found this on one of the Wraith," Ronon said, still looking at Temman. He tossed the Wraith pistol toward Sheppard's feet.

Sheppard picked it up and looked it over. "Not the standard stun pistol," he said, taking aim at a nearby tree. He fired once…a single green dart that completely obliterated the trunk on impact.

"Whoa, look out!" he yelled as the small tree toppled over. Ronon didn't move, even as it landed some two meters to his left.

"That's some firepower," Sheppard commented. "Doesn't make sense they'd build these to use against humans. It'd ruin their meal."

"Probably designed to fight the replicators," Ronon said, finally standing up. "They fought a war against them twice. We should have known they'd find some way to kill them."

"Where's Teyla's group?" Sheppard asked.

"Don't know," Ronon said, his senses alert again. "Last I knew they were fighting the Wraith down by the ridge."

"Better find them and get back to the gate before any more Wraith pop up."

"I've got point," Ronon said, leading the way.

"Carry her," Sheppard told his squad. "Leave the body."

Kelson glanced up in surprise. "Leave him behind?"

"He's dead," Sheppard said, retrieving Temman's stun rifle. "Our duty is to the living. Move out."

* * *

Teyla limped back to Atlantis through the gate, supported on one side by Ronon. The other two strike team members that had been stunned were also assisted through, while Ariel carried back the small glob of nanites that had been Ares, or what was left of him. The still functioning nanites clung to her own on command, but would revert to useless dust when she released control of them.

Ronon helped Teyla back to the mission prep room where she stowed her weapons, stumbled through a long shower, and slipped into a fresh pair of clothes. Afterwards she hobbled on down to the commissary and grabbed a tray of food which she did little more than stare at for the better part of an hour.

"Mind if I join you?" Daniel asked, sitting down across from her with a chess set.

"That's alright, I was just finishing," Teyla said, not making eye contact.

"Looks to me like you haven't started," Daniel said casually.

"I am not as hungry as I thought," Teyla said, still staring at her tray.

"I heard you took a hit?" Daniel asked.

"Yes," Teyla said, finally looking at him. "In the leg. It's mostly worn off by now."

"Look, I know I'm still the new guy around here," Daniel said, almost apologizing, "but I've seen the look on your face before…sometimes in the mirror."

"And?" Teyla said, a little challenge in her voice.

"I heard we lost a man today," Daniel said, his voice softening. "I know from experience how hard that can be."

"Not nearly as hard as it was on him," Teyla said, standing up. "If you'll excuse me."

Teyla limped off, tray in hand. Daniel watched her go as Dr. Weir entered and noticed Elizabeth's hesitation as she passed Teyla. They exchanged a few quick words then Teyla moved on.

"What was that all about with Teyla? She walked me off when I tried to talk to her" Daniel asked, setting up the chess board as Elizabeth joined him.

"I'm not sure," Elizabeth admitted. "But I know not to press the issue when she's in that kind of a mood. If she wants to talk she will. If she doesn't, then she won't."

"I think it has something to do with their last mission," Daniel offered. "I don't know if you heard, but they lost a man."

"No I hadn't," Elizabeth said, glancing back at the door where Teyla had exited. "That may have something to do with her mood, but there's been something nagging her for some time now. Knowing her its usually something that she has to work through on her own."

"If you say so," Daniel said, pulling back.

Elizabeth smiled. "You'll get your feet here quickly enough. It just takes some time to get exposed to the local cultures. After a while I found that I didn't have too much of a problem relating to them, especially Teyla, who I know best of all."

"I'm sure I will," Daniel echoed, turning his attention to the chess board. "What's it now, four and two?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Your move."


	3. Chapter 3

Sheppard palm-smashed his ring onto Stevenson's tabletop next to his computer display screen. "What good are these things if they can't block Wraith stun blasts?!" he asked grumpily.

Stevenson looked up from the mission memory playback files he had downloaded from the replicators. "They're not supposed to," he answered, raising an eyebrow.

"Then I'll say it again," Sheppard reiterated. "What good are they?"

Stevenson sighed. "We've had this discussion before. They are designed to prevent a one-shot kill or a grenade blast…something lethal. Stunners aren't, so the rings won't waste their limited power supply to stop them."

"Temman died yesterday," Sheppard all but yelled at him. "If we'd had shields that stopped stunners he'd probably be alive right now."

Stevenson stared directly at Sheppard for a long while before answering him. "You would have me give you the most advanced weaponry, shields, and other accessories that I have available?"

"That'd be a nice change," Sheppard said sarcastically.

"Why didn't it work for the Lanteans then?"

Sheppard shook his head back and forth. "I don't need a history lesson, Stevenson."

"It didn't work," he continued, not taking his eyes off Sheppard's, "because they misused what they had. If I gave you full shields, you and your men would just walk out in front of the Wraith and fire with assumed impunity, taking hit after hit until you'd exhausted your supply of power…at which point you're back to square one. If you don't learn the basic skills and how to effectively use them, the technology will be more of a hindrance than an asset."

"I don't believe that for a second," Sheppard countered. "With full shields and an army of replicators we could do some serious damage to the Wraith."

Stevenson didn't say anything for a moment, then he spun the display screen around for Sheppard to see. "Take a look."

It took a while for Sheppard to make sense out of what Stevenson cued up for him, but when he did his argumentativeness faded and he pulled up a nearby chair…and slumped into it.

"I'm not holding out on you," Stevenson said slowly. "I'm just making sure that you can handle what I give you."

"We can't tell Teyla about this," Sheppard warned.

Stevenson starred blankly. "I already sent for her."

"She's already here," Teyla said from the doorway. "What is it that I'm not supposed to know?"

Sheppard got up from his seat and met her halfway across the room. "Teyla…"

She held up a hand for him to stop before he even began. "Just tell me."

"Here," Stevenson offered, pointing to the display screen.

Teyla sat down and watched the playback from Achilles' data. She saw him respond to the Wraith attack on Temman and Ella, the source of his shoulder wound, and the override command that she'd initiated…which caused the replicator to abandon Temman to his death.

"No," Teyla murmured, half falling out of her chair onto the floor. She stood on her knees, staring down at her hands and the place on her wrist where she'd initiated the recall order. "I killed him."

"That's ridiculous," Sheppard said, pulling Teyla to her feet. "The Wraith killed him. You didn't know what Achilles was doing when you called for him. He exists to back you up. You did what you were supposed to do. It was just plain bad luck what happened."

"No!" Teyla said, shaking him off. "No, it _is_ my fault."

"Ah," Sheppard groaned, looking to Stevenson. "A little help here?"

"You want to know why I called Achilles back?" Teyla all but yelled. "It was because we were in trouble, and we were in trouble because I froze. If I hadn't, then I wouldn't have recalled Achilles and he would have saved Temman. If I had been my normal self, he would still be alive," she said quickly, tears beginning to run down her cheeks.

"And the reason I froze," she said, her voice becoming tortured, "is because at that moment all I could think of was what would happen to Torren if I died. What kind of a life he would have without a mother. I caused Temman's death," she said before quickly walking out of the room.

"Teyla!" Sheppard yelled after her, but it did no good. She only took off running, and John knew that he'd never be able to catch her.

"A lot of good you were," he barked at Stevenson.

* * *

Seven hours later Teyla, emotionally composed, met up with Kanaan in an isolated part of the city for a conversation that she was not looking forward to.

"Teyla, I'm here," he said, walking out onto the patio high above the city in one of the outer towers. "What's so important that we couldn't talk in our quarters?"

"I am not well, Kanaan. And in order to get well I am going to have to hurt you, very badly I fear," Teyla said, looking out at the ice cone around the city and not at Kanaan.

"I don't understand."

"Do you remember what it was like before we came to Atlantis, before we met the people from Earth?"

"Of course," Kanaan said softly.

"Do you really?" Teyla asked. "Do you remember the horror of seeing our people culled by the Wraith? Do you remember the constant fear we lived in, and how we tried our best to ignore it? Do you remember what it was like?"

Kanaan walked up beside her on the railing. "I don't think I'll ever be rid of those memories, Teyla."

She laughed, without any trace of humor. "Our people seem to be doing their best to forget, and I do not blame them. We have escaped the horror that has been the fate of our forbearers for untold generations. Our people deserve to be free of the Wraith after all we have endured, as do you and Torren."

"And you," he reminded her.

She nodded slightly, but it was obvious that she didn't agree. "I am overjoyed that my people are finally free of the Wraith, safe here in Atlantis with a living Ancestor to watch over them…but I cannot be content here. I don't begrudge this life to any of you…but it is _killing_ me, Kanaan."

"What do you mean," he said, taking her hand.

"Back when we first met the people from Earth, I was criticized for leaving our people."

"I don't think anyone holds that against you now," Kanaan said.

Teyla bristled at that. "Why should they hold it against me at all?"

"We are your people, Teyla. Not them. Some of us believed you wanted to be one of them more than you wanted to be one of us."

Teyla's jaw dropped, but she quickly realized that she hadn't really expected more from him. "I joined with them to protect our people, not abandon them," she said in low tones, dropping his hand. "Until Stevenson came here, we were still in danger, whether it be here in Atlantis or on a world of our own, and if it wasn't for him and Sheppard defying their own people we'd be back where we started and Atlantis would be gone. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"We have always been a strong and determined people, Teyla. We would have found a way to survive."

"As Wraith food?" Teyla challenged. "Any and all hope of ever defeating the Wraith was about to be torn away from us, and knowing what we had lost would have been twice as hard to bear as before."

"What is the point of all this?" Kanaan asked, a little annoyed with Teyla's tone. "That didn't come to pass. We are safe and secure here in Atlantis. We can live our lives as we wish, and at some point we may yet have a world of our own again, one where Torren can grow up free of the Wraith…and others."

"I know," Teyla said, starting to tear up again. "But I can't live that life, Kanaan. And the more I'm pulled into it the more it is killing me."

"You look fine to me," Kanaan said, not knowing what else to say.

Teyla pressed her palm to her chest. "In here," she emphasized. "How can you live so blithely knowing that millions of others just like us are still being culled by the Wraith. With a slight shift of events, it could be us out there and some other people here in Atlantis. Have you not considered our fate if Sheppard and his team had first dialed another planet instead of Athos when they first arrived in this galaxy? Do you not see how tenuously lucky we were?"

"Lucky to have our village and home obliterated by the Wraith in retaliation?" Kanaan countered. "Yes, we have been fortunate, but the Earthers have not always been an asset to us. Two of my friends were taken that day because of them."

"I was also taken that day," Teyla reminded him. "My point is, I cannot live in peace here knowing that there are others still out there suffering the same fate we did."

"Why not? You have a son to look out for now. He is your charge, not the galaxy," Kanaan said, virtually driving a knife through her heart. Now the tears began to flow unrestrained.

"And that is the problem," Teyla said slowly. "I cannot let them go, not even for Torren. He may be my son, but I will not sacrifice others for him, just as I will not sacrifice him for others. I will not ignore the fate of the people of this galaxy simply because I gave birth to a child."

"What happens if you are killed fighting for the people of the galaxy?" Kanaan argued. "What happens to Torren if he doesn't have a mother to grow up with?"

"That, is unacceptable," Teyla said. "But abandoning the others is also unacceptable. They are the forgotten ones, and I will not let myself forget them as our people have."

Teyla raised her hand to stop Kanaan before he could speak again. "I do not ask that any of you fight unless you choose to. I am not displeased with what has become of my people…but you need to understand that I am not like the rest of you. I am a fighter, and it is abhorrent to me to just sit here while others suffer and die when I could have prevented it."

"Now you insult our people, myself included," Kanaan said, clearly taking offense.

"That is not my intent," she said conciliatorily.

"It is in your tone."

Teyla glared at him. "So be it then. Their lives are far more important than your feelings."

Kanaan looked at her as if he was looking at a stranger. "What is wrong with you? This isn't like you, Teyla."

She looked down at the floor. "I haven't been myself for some time. And the only way I can become so again is to deal with my conflicting priorities."

"You're going to give up your missions then?" Kanaan urged more than asked. "That is the only path available to you."

Teyla shook her head, still crying and beginning to sniffle. "No. I cannot let go the forgotten ones. I don't have it in me, Kanaan. I have to fight to save them."

"What you have to do is insure that our son has a mother to raise him," Kanaan said pointedly.

"Torren will grow up with a mother," Teyla said, her chest tightening. "But it will not be me."


	4. Chapter 4

Sheppard was on his way to the commissary to enjoy some more of Stevenson's Ancient food cubes and a bottle of Gatorade, which he'd had scanned and replicated from the small sample he'd had brought back with him from Earth, when he saw Kanaan walking the opposite direction ahead of him. As they came closer he saw the man glaring at him, and when they passed each other in the hall Kanaan punched Sheppard in the head.

The blow caught Sheppard off guard and knocked him sideways into the wall, but he managed to stay on his feet and brought his hands up into an unnecessary guard position. Kanaan wasn't interesting in delivering more than the single punch and walked on.

"What the hell was that for?" Sheppard yelled at him.

Kanaan stopped and half turned around. "That's for taking Teyla away from me," he said before turning away and leaving without another word.

"Ow," Sheppard moaned, holding his head in his hand. Suddenly the thought of food made him sick, so he decided to track down Teyla and find out what was going on…before he settled up with Kanaan.

* * *

After her conversation with Kanaan, Teyla had fled into the remotest part of the city she could find. She was angry with herself for letting things get this bad in the first place, but she was confident that what she was doing would work out in the long run for all considered.

Right now though, she certainly didn't feel alright.

"There you are," Sheppard said, coming up behind her on top of the pylon 3 landing pad on the topside of the city. "I searched half of Atlantis before having to use the chair to find you."

"I don't feel like talking, John. Just give me some space for a while."

"I don't think so," Sheppard said angrily. "Not when your boyfriend punches me in the head, claiming that I'm taking you from him somehow."

Teyla half turned her head, but didn't fully look at Sheppard behind her. She remained seated cross-legged on the city surface, looking out at the diminishing ice fields as the replicators gradually shaved them back from the city. "He hit you?"

"Yeah, he did," Sheppard said, walking up and sitting down beside her. "What's going on?"

If Teyla had had any tears left in her she would have started crying again. Her emotions were raw and twitchy after several hours of distress. "I had to give up Torren…and Kanaan."

"Gave up? Why?"

"I can't fight to rid the galaxy of the Wraith and be a mother at the same time. I should have seen this before, but I was hopeful that I could make it work. Recent events have proven otherwise."

"So you choose to give up your son? Are you nuts?"

Teyla glared at him. "It is not a decision I made lightly."

"Teyla, your family is more important than anything. That's the last thing you should ever give up, and not even then, in my book."

She starred off at the ice wall ahead of them. "How many lives is my raising Torren worth?"

"Doesn't matter," Sheppard said. "Your family takes priority."

"How many?" Teyla asked again.

Sheppard sighed. "I think you're missing the point."

"No, you're missing mine," Teyla said harshly. "How many lives is a fair trade for me raising Torren?"

"I can't put a number on a kid growing up without a mother, Teyla. How can you even ask me that?"

Teyla shook his head. "Torren will grow up with a mother. Mella, a close friend of mine, lost both her husband and her son to the Wraith a year before you arrived in this galaxy. I have seen the pain in her eyes whenever someone with a child was present, myself and Torren included. She has long lived with a void in her life, and was overwhelmed with gratitude when I asked if she would raise Torren in my stead."

"You gave your kid up to someone else to raise?" Sheppard asked in shock.

"Mella will raise him well, I have no doubts in that regard. If she should become unable, Lenari has vowed to take her place. Torren will grow up with both a mother and a father…something that I cannot guarantee him...and most importantly, he will grow up free of the Wraith."

"Teyla, you can't give up your kid!"

"I already have."

"Then undo it."

Teyla's jaw started to clench. "I will not abandon the rest of the galaxy in order to raise Torren."

"We're talking about your own flesh and blood," Sheppard countered, "not some strangers that you've never met."

"Does my not having met them make their lives any less valuable?"

"Oh, don't give me that. This is your family we're talking about. Besides, you're just upset about what happened to Temman. It wasn't your fault in the first place…and even if it had been, things like that happen occasionally. You can't let yourself dwell on it."

"You can't let yourself ignore it either," Teyla countered. "How many people have to die for Torren's sake?"

"Stop asking questions like that," Sheppard said, standing up in frustration. "You know you have another choice," he said, turning back to her.

"And what choice would that be?"

"Let others fight the Wraith in your place and stay here and raise your son."

Teyla looked back over her shoulder at him incredulously. "It was you that wanted me to come back to active duty in the first place!"

"Not at the expense of your son," Sheppard pleaded. "Yes, I want you out there kicking Wraith butt alongside me. But if it comes down to a choice between that and your son…that's really a no brainer."

Teyla shook her head, looking away again. "I can't give up on the rest of the galaxy. I never should've expected you to understand, you've never lived under the heel of the Wraith, but for some reason I thought you of all people might."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sheppard said, losing interest in the conversation.

"The other ones out there could very well be me and Torren and Kanaan and all of my people. They were us for most of our lives. The only difference between us is you and your people. I can't write them off, abandon them to their fate, simply because we escaped ours."

"All good and true," Sheppard said stiffly, "but in the end it comes down to this…you look after your own first, others second, and right now you have a baby to take care of. If that means you can't go on missions, then so be it. You have a responsibility to acquit."

"And what of my responsibility to the forgotten ones in the galaxy, then ones being fed upon this very moment and in the moments to come?"

"The rest of us will take care of that, you have more important matters to deal with."

"I don't like to think these thoughts. It burns me to say it, and I hate you for making me say it, but my child is only one life. How can he be more important than a thousand others, especially since he isn't at risk from the Wraith?"

"That's cold, Teyla."

"But it's true."

Sheppard walked two steps away then turned back. "I'll make this simple. You either go back and raise your son like you should be…or you're off the mission roster permanently."

Teyla ground her teeth together angrily. "This is not a time for jokes, Sheppard."

"Oh, I'm not joking. I couldn't be more serious."

Teyla shot to her feet and spun around to face him. "Don't…you…dare."

"It's done," Sheppard said defiantly. "If you can't make the right decision on your own, then I'm going to make it for you. Your days of fighting the Wraith are over."

That's when the blow came, so fast and accurate that Sheppard didn't realize what was happening. Teyla knocked him backwards onto his ass, then kicked him in the gut as she ran over him and off across the deck toward the doorway into the city.

Sheppard coughed roughly, and sat up massaging his ribs. "That went over better than I expected."

* * *

Over the next two days virtually everyone Teyla knew tried to talk her out of her decision, which further left her feeling isolated and betrayed. Elizabeth tried to compassionately steer her back to what she believed to be the right course, espousing sympathy while she subtly attempted to manipulate her thinking, but like with everyone else, when it didn't work she grew irate and began to apply whatever leverage she believed she had over Teyla to get her to change her mind.

Ronon, at least, she had hoped would understand. He had lived beneath the oppression of the Wraith too, and had suffered more at their hands than she or anyone else she had ever known. So it was even more insufferable when he told her in his simple, quiet voice that she was making the wrong choice. He told her that she would regret it later in her life and let the conversation end at that. She had almost wished he'd started yelling and throwing punches. His simple dismissal of her motives hurt her the worst of all. Could she really doing the right thing with everyone so vehemently opposed to her choice?

She knew in her gut that she had made the only viable choice, but she was having an increasingly hard time living with it, and everyone's constant hostility made her situation even more unbearable. Instead of having to suffer their continual disapproval on a hour to hour basis, Teyla collected her belongings and moved into quarters in an unoccupied section of the city…where she trained alone, trying to regain her center.

Two days after having her confrontation with Sheppard she was going through a series of flexibility drills with a meditative aspect meant to calm her emotions and center her thoughts. Though outwardly successful, inside Teyla was filled with conflict and doubt that no one else could see…save for one.

"Hello, Teyla," Stevenson said from the open doorway. Somehow he'd snuck up on her without her knowing. Either it was a skill of the Ancestors or her emotional instability was affecting her senses.

"I wish to be left alone," she said brusquely, continuing her drills.

Stevenson smiled and walked over to her, feeling her ire rise as he did so. He stooped down next to her and, ready to telekinetically restrain her if she tried to hit him, softly kissed her on the forehead. "I'm proud of you."


	5. Chapter 5

"You are?" Teyla asked, caught completely off guard. "Everyone else in the city thinks I've lost my mind. Why are you any different?"

"Because I am different," Stevenson said, sitting down cattycorner to Teyla on the dark lavender mat. "I'm Alterra."

"And that means what?"

"We don't raise our own children, not like Humans do."

"No?" Teyla asked, surprised. "How then are they raised?"

"Children of similar age are brought together at or near birth and form a maturia, usually numbering around 100. They become your brothers and sisters, though to a slightly lesser extent all Alterra are looked upon as family. Each maturia has 20 or so handlers at any given time that oversee and teach the children as they mature."

"You have 20 parents and 100 brothers and sisters?" Teyla asked, wide eyed.

Stevenson shook his head. "No, Alterrans have no father or mother concept. Each of the handlers is assigned a developmental stage, and spends four or five hours a day with a maturia at that stage. When the maturia reaches a certain level, the handler reverts back to a younger maturia and oversees their development. Each child will go through more than 100 handlers while in the maturia, with none lasting more than a few years."

"A relay system," Teyla wondered aloud, "with one parent passing the children off to another."

"Not parents," Stevenson corrected her. "The handlers are more like older brothers and sisters. Once we reach maturity we're all on the same level."

Teyla frowned. "The elders aren't given precedence within your society?"

Stevenson smiled. "When you live as long as we do, what year you were born has little consequence. It's your skills, abilities, and wisdom that matter."

Teyla raised an eyebrow. "How long do you live?"

"If we're not killed and we don't grow stagnant, then we have an unlimited lifespan."

"You don't grow old?" Teyla asked in awe.

"Only if you succumb to stagnation," Stevenson clarified. "What you call 'growing old' is a myth. The years you have lived don't cause the degradation, not even in Humans...nor Wraith for that matter."

"I don't understand," Teyla admitted honestly.

"You have within you many autonomic systems that regulate your body and your mind without conscious thought. These systems include your ability to heal. So long as the damage doesn't surpass your healing ability you won't 'grow old.' Alterran physiology is considerably more advanced, and our autonomic systems are far more robust than yours. It doesn't take much conscious effort to maintain our, for lack of a better word…youth. That said, some Alterra have chosen a stagnant lifestyle that their autonomic systems couldn't fully cancel out, but even then most usually lived over a thousand years."

"I cannot imagine living for so long," Teyla said, dumbfounded. "Our lives are so short, and made even more so by the Wraith, that we have focused on making the most out of the few years that we have. Dying of old age is seen as a victory to my people."

"A victory in escaping the Wraith perhaps," Stevenson said, shaking his head, "but it is not natural. It is a failure of your regenerative systems to cancel the damage accrued."

Teyla tilted her head at an angle as her breath caught in her throat. "Are you saying that Humans don't have to grow old?"

"Technically no," Stevenson admitted, "but the odds are stacked against you."

"How so?"

"During the maturation cycle your autonomic systems control most of your development, limiting you somewhat. When you are fully grown, the autonomic systems release certain elements to your conscious control, which is why adults are physically and mentally more capable than children. However, if that extra conscious control is not used, or is misused, degradation can occur that will exceed what your autonomic regenerative ability is capable of countering. If it can't account for all of the damage, but can handle most of it, you will see a gradual, even subtle deterioration occurring over many years or decades. This is what Humans refer to as growing old."

"How then can we avoid it?" Teyla asked.

Stevenson shook his head again. "There is nothing to 'avoid,' it is a matter of limiting damage and upgrading your autonomic abilities through training. That is why some people seem to 'age' faster than others. If one can get their regenerative ability equal to or above the continual attrition, then their lifespan will be unlimited."

"That sounds too simple."

"Far from it," Stevenson warned. "Life is not constant, and many adjustments have to be made, both internally and externally. Even with our advanced regenerative abilities not all Alterra live forever."

"Because with stagnation there is no training," Teyla began to catch on, "and with no training, one's autonomic systems aren't strengthened."

"And one is more vulnerable to environmental attrition…not to mention internal inefficiency, much like you're suffering from now."

"I am?" Teyla asked.

"The body and the mind are one…they cannot function independent of each other. What affects the body affects the mind, and what affects the mind affects the body. The internal conflict that you are feeling is creating a negative affect on your body. It is lowering your efficiency, which lowers your regenerative ability. A lower regenerative ability allows more damage to stack up…which further lowers your efficiency."

"And the cycle builds," Teyla said quietly. "Can such damage be undone?"

Stevenson nodded. "If you are able to increase your healing rate above your damage rate, then recovery is possible, but it rarely happens."

"Why is it rare?" Teyla asked, beginning to think through various possibilities. "It should simply be a matter of training, should it not?"

"Perhaps," Stevenson offered, "but usually the source of the damage isn't addressed…and at some point people simply give up trying to fight it, which hastens their degradation."

"And what of my source?"

"Sources," Stevenson corrected her, "usually more than you know exist. The big one right now is finding your center, which you're unable to do because of a conflicting loyalty."

"Between my son and the people at risk from the Wraith," Teyla said quietly.

"No," Stevenson disagreed, "between your misguided loyalty to your son and your loyalty to yourself. You have been compromising yourself on his behalf…which only hastens your degradation. We learned early on that those who train the children cannot become engrossed in the task, else they lose their sense of self and live vicariously through their charges rather than their own lives. This creates an incredible amount of internal conflict which must either be challenged or surrendered. When it is surrendered, stagnation ensues."

"So," Teyla said, trying to wrap her head around the concept, "my people…John, Elizabeth, Ronon, even Daniel…they were trying to force me into a situation where I would lose myself and stagnate?"

"They probably don't realize it…but yes."

Teyla thought about that for a minute, becoming slightly nauseous. To think what she had almost allowed herself to me pushed into…

"Which is why I am proud of you," Stevenson explained. "You challenged your instincts through logic and reason, allowing yourself to see the situation for what is was. You made a very hard choice, but it was the correct one."

"What do you mean, 'challenged my instincts?'"

Stevenson sighed, trying to figure out a way to explain the basics. "Lesser species have strong instincts that guide their actions. The most basic is preservation of self. It is the inner drive to save yourself no matter the cost to others. Humans, in general, maintain this instinct, but it is less intense than in more primitive species."

"Another instinct, more prevalent in modern Humans," Stevenson continued, "is to favor the family unit above all else. This instinct is the root of your internal conflict, and I image is the source of the animosity you have been receiving. Your actions have conflicted with the others' instinctual rules and they feel threatened by it. They aren't thinking logically, they are acting instinctually. You, however, are not."

"You have been able to see past your maternal instincts enough to realize that they were at fault. You did not erase those instincts, they are still screaming inside of you that what you are doing is wrong, but logically you know the opposite is true."

Teyla held her head in her head. "How then can I deal with them and clear my head?"

"The key is to first be able to break through their hold on you, which you have done. The second part is being able to see the truth for what it is. The more you understand what's going on within yourself the easier it will be for you to deal with it."

"Wait," Teyla said as another thought occurred to her. "You said the body and mind were one, which would explain the physical pains I've had in connection with giving up Torren…but what of Dr. Weir. Wasn't her mind separated from her body?"

"Yes, and no," Stevenson said vaguely. "Her mind couldn't function outside of her body, and was in a state of…say, stasis when the transfer occurred, then her mind reformed to her new body when…implanted."

"How then did her mind function as a replicator?"

"It was, ah, this is hard to explain in your language. Your vocabulary is lacking. Let's just say her nanite cells acted as her body, and as such had an affect on her mind, making her more replicator than just having a replicator body."

"She became one of them in spirit?"

"Partially," Stevenson explained. "Part of her retained her former identity, another part conformed to her new body. She was both, yet neither."

"For example," Stevenson said, seeing the look of confusion on Teyla's face, "if you and I switched bodies, after a year or so your body wouldn't look exactly the same because it would reform to my…core…and this body would conform to your core."

"Core being your essence?" Teyla asked.

"Yes," Stevenson said, looking as though that wasn't fully correct. "The body takes on characteristics of the mind, or core in this case. What I did was transfer Dr. Weir's core from one body to another. Her replicator mind didn't transfer because it's hardware. Her core was implanted into her cloned body, which with it came her cloned mind…think of it as a computer…and her core is the person operating the computer."

Teyla sat silent for a moment, soaking in what he had said. "You can make a copy of the mind, but not the core?"

Stevenson smiled. "Yes. Quite right."

"How then are clones made?"

"Clones are a copy of body and mind, but one cannot create a core. The cloned body I made for Dr. Weir was nothing more than biological hardware. Other clones are made in a different way. They are 'grown' from…let's just say they pirate the natural development of life in order to create multiple persons of the same form, yet each of their cores is unique."

"Well, what makes someone's core?" Teyla asked.

"That…is still one of the mysteries of the universe," Stevenson said.

Teyla frowned. "If you don't know, how could you transfer Dr. Weir's?"

"I didn't say we knew nothing of the essence of lifeforms," Stevenson corrected her. "We know a great deal, but we do not have the ability to create new ones. How a core is formed is still beyond our knowledge. After its formed we know a great deal, but how and why the core is what it is…has eluded us for a long time."

"That's also why we raise our children in maturia," Stevenson continued. "We have learned that the formation of a core is in no way tied to the parent lifeforms. The body and mind may be derivatives of the parental genetic code, but the core is not."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning that Torren isn't going to be anything like you on the inside," Stevenson explained. "His body and mind may be similar to yours, but the person he is will not be linked to you. In essence the type of core an offspring has is a random function. We have not been able to find any correlation."

"You're saying that Torren, on the inside, isn't my child?"

"His core isn't. At least, no more than any other child. His body and mind are linked to you in common form."

"So my attachment to him is…"

"Instinctual…a superimposed emotion," Stevenson clarified. "There are no preset bonds. You form those during your life."

Teyla knelt with her elbows on her knees and cradled her head in both hands.

"I'm sorry," Stevenson apologized. "I'm probably talking over your head."

"There's no doubt of that," Teyla said sarcastically, "but some of what you said made sense. Thank you."

"Actually, that's not the reason I came here."

Teyla looked up between her fingers. "No?"

"You have spoken of your conviction to fight the Wraith. How serious about that are you?"

She looked at him incredulously. "I gave up my son so that I could fight the Wraith."

Stevenson shook his head again. "You gave up your son because you were being forced down a path you didn't want to travel. Your desire to save others from the Wraith is what helped you overcome your maternal instinct. Very little of that was really about Torren. So long as he is well cared for, this is an internal conflict that has to do with you and only you. Don't let yourself be deluded otherwise."

"Without Torren…I don't intend to stop until the galaxy is free of the Wraith. Every last one of them."

Stevenson smiled again. "That's what I sensed in you. The desire to help others you know nothing about is another instinctual drive, yet one that is beyond most Humans. I have that instinct as an Alterran by default. You do not. Therefore I can only assume that yours doesn't come from your body and mind…it comes from your core, and that is very rare."

"Meaning?" Teyla asked, though she thought he was giving her a compliment.

"As I said before, cores are random, so even the caliber of Alterra isn't assured. Our instincts and biology have a strong influence over our cores, but those abilities don't make our cores superior to those of lesser species. Our skills, knowledge, and power are superior, but the essence of who and what we each are isn't determined by our race. There were many Alterrans less of a person than you, Teyla. Though your body and mind doesn't match ours, you are not inferior to us...and are in fact superior to some."

"Thank you," Teyla said, genuinely flattered. "I think I understand what you mean."

"Not quite," Stevenson said a bit more rigidly. "You have proven yourself worthy, Teyla. If you wish it…I can make you Alterra."

"What!?" Teyla asked, wondering if she'd heard him right.

Stevenson nodded. "I have been given the power to transform lesser species into Alterra. It is not something I do lightly, but as I said, you have proven your worth."

"I…would become one of the Ancestors?" Teyla asked in a whisper of a voice.

"Not Lanean, Teyla…Alterra. The Laneans that you know of as your Ancestors are not our kin. They were less advanced than the Alterra, yet they were more advanced than Humans."

"I…I don't know what to say," Teyla said, her voice catching in her throat. "What about Sheppard and the others?"

Stevenson frowned. "Sheppard is annoying. Elizabeth is bordering on stagnation. Ronon…well let's just say Ronon's case has been complicated by his time as a runner. As of now, none of them are fit to become Alterra."

"Then I am the first?"

"Second," Stevenson clarified. "A wise Jaffa who I hold in great esteem was the first."

"Jaffa?" Teyla said, thinking. "I think Sheppard told me about them. They are from his home galaxy, yes?"

"Yes, Avalona. His transformation is nearing the end, so as of now, there are two of us. You would make three."

"What would become of me if I did?" Teyla asked.

"Whatever you wished," Stevenson said before starring her directly in the eyes. "But what I had in mind was grooming you into a super-warrior that I would send on solo missions against the Wraith. Would that be to your liking?"

"I would have your abilities then?" Teyla asked, her eyes gleaming with possibilities.

"Most of them," Stevenson said reservedly. "Some of mine are unique to me, such as being able to transform others in to Alterra. However, you will have all the powers that a normal Alterran would have, for you will become fully Alterran. Your Human genome will be completely replaced…including your Wraith genes."

Teyla's eyes widened even further. "The Wraith in me will be stripped away?"

"Yes, and the transformation will be permanent. You won't have any Human or Wraith aspects to revert back into."

Teyla laughed in spite of herself. "I had given up all hope of ever completely separating myself from the Wraith. When I learned of the Wraith genes I possessed a few years ago, I consoled myself with the fact that I could use the abilities they granted me and turn them back against the Wraith…but I have never liked having them. You said they would be completely gone, forever?"

Stevenson nodded.

"How will this transformation take place?"

"I will trigger a slower version of my own transformation. It will take around a year to run to completion. You will not have the knowledge download that I have been given, but your body and mind will gradually alter until you are fully Alterra."

"How will you cause the transformation?"

Stevenson pulled himself over in front of Teyla and stood on his knees. "All I need is a few minutes with you. The most pain you will feel is a headache afterwards. Just do as I do."

"Very well," Teyla said, standing on her knees opposite Stevenson.

He grabbed her hands in his, spread apart on either side of them. "One last thing. If you wish it, I can make you sterile."

Teyla thought about that. "I would be physically unable to have any more children?"

"Yes. If that's what you want. I only offer it as an option."

Inside Teyla fought a battle of wills, but in the end came to the conclusion that if she was to fight the Wraith with every fiber of her being it would be best to rule out the possibility of any distractions from that purpose.

"Please do," she said, trying to steady her conflicting emotions.

"All I need you to do is hold still," Stevenson said, tipping his forehead against Teyla's. She leaned into the familiar Athosian stance, wondering if this was normal or an adjustment Stevenson had made for her. When their heads met she felt an electric tingle along with a slight adhesive pull, keeping their heads lightly joined together. She settled herself into that pose and resigned herself to wait as long as was necessary.

* * *

Twenty two minutes later Stevenson broke their connection and told Teyla that it was finished. He also told her to pack for a several day hike through the forest and meet him in the gateroom when she was ready.

Fighting off a persistent headache, Teyla began to gather what she needed from her quarters while Stevenson left her to herself. She felt tingly all over, with an excited anticipation that nearly overrode her former emotional distress…the headache helped with that too.

After grabbing the few items that she needed from her quarters, Teyla stopped by the mission prep room, grabbing what gear and supplies she would need. She didn't know what Stevenson had planned, but she'd lived enough of her life in the forest to know how to prepare for a hike.

When she got to the gateroom Stevenson was standing in front of the already active gate. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"I'm staying here," he told her, "but you need to get away from Atlantis for a while and clear your head. On the other side you will find an obelisk about 80 meters from the gate. From there travel east until you come to a river. Follow it south until it crosses a large ridge. Cross the river and follow the ridge further east. Eventually you will come to a large lake."

"There are three islands. Your destination in on one of those islands. It is a secluded outpost that I visit on occasion to train in private. You will have adequate supplies to last you as long as you need. Take the time and find your center again…and take as much time as you need. You will do far more damage to the Wraith once you're whole than you will going after them while still incomplete."

Teyla flexed her left hand experimentally, then closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. "You're right. I do need to get away. I don't know how to begin to thank you."

"By proving that my assessment of your value is correct," Stevenson said simply. "I'll make sure the Athosians have everything they need, whether they be here in Atlantis or on a world of their own."

"If they do choose to move offworld, I'll make sure their new settlement has an adequate defense system against the Wraith. Torren will have everything that he needs to grow up safe and sound…and you will no longer need to concern yourself with his welfare. Make the break with him now, and fully so. When he grows up you can explain your reasons. For now, Teyla needs to concern herself with her own life…not Torren's, which will now take a radically different path from hers."

"I hear the wisdom in your words…but I fear it will be some time before I can feel them in my heart," she said knowingly.

"Time you have…" Stevenson said, motioning her forward. She stepped through the gate and began the journey to rediscover herself.

"Use it wisely, sister," Stevenson said, looking into the event horizon.


End file.
